TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
51/15 17.03.15
1.
Eroglu sent a letter to Juncker regarding halloumi
2. More statements by Nami and
Toros on the issue of halloumi/hellim
3. Olgun expressed hopes for the
resumption of the talks after April
4.
Sibel said that she will bring forward new ideas on confident building measures
for Varosha on the table
5. “Draft change bill on
citizenship” has been approved by the so-called assembly
6.
New survey on the “presidential elections” shows Eroglu to receive 42%
7. The occupation regime to
attend the CeBit International Technology Fair in Germany
8. Erdogan’s claims: Events
in Syria are part of attempts to destroy Turkey’s power:
9. Demirtas: Why is there a
peace process if there is no Kurdish question?
10. Opinion poll suggests
that AKP may not be able to apply a Presidential System in Turkey
1. Eroglu
sent a letter to Juncker regarding halloumi
Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis newspaper (17.03.15)
reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader
Dervis Eroglu sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Jean
Claude Juncker expressing his worries on the efforts of the Republic of Cyprus
to designate halloumi/ hellim as a product with Protected Designation of
Origin.
Eroglu claimed in his letter that many difficulties
will arise for the Turkish Cypriot halloumi producers in case the European
Commission accepted the application, claiming that this will further increase
the isolations “already felt on the north”.
He
stated that halloumi is a common product in Cyprus and alleged that the file
submitted by the Republic of Cyprus creates discrimination against the Turkish
Cypriot halloumi producers who will be suffering great financial damage. He
also called upon the “justice and impartiality” of the Commission and asked
that the Commission take into consideration the special conditions in the
island on the issue, so that no any political issues to arise because of this
development.
Finally, he stated that designating halloumi/ hellim
as a product with Protected Designation of Origin is a potential for
cooperation between the two sides in Cyprus and said that the control of halloumi
in the occupied area of Cyprus shouldbe conducted by the Turkish Cypriot
Chamber of Commerce.
(CS)
2.More statements by Nami and
Toros on the issue of halloumi/hellim
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (17.03.15)
reports that the so-called foreign minister Ozdil Nami, in statements to
the paper regarding the issue of halloumi/hellim, criticized the companies in
Turkey which produce halloumi and export it abroad without having permission
from the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (KTSO) and said that they continue
their efforts to find a solution to this issue. “This issue is possible to be
solved either through the political path or through filing a lawsuit; still,
proceeding to the court is not in our plans, it will be our last resort”, Nami
said.
Nami continued and explained that the “government”
does not have the intention to file a lawsuit against Turkey or against the
Turkish firms and added that the “ministry” continues to exert efforts for
solving this issue. He expressed also the belief that the issue is possible to
be solved through dialogue and said that he is hopeful that the issue will be
solved in 2015.
Nami
stated further that the EU Commission is seeking for a formula on the issue of
the registration of halloumi/hellim cheese which will satisfy both sides in the
island.
Referring to his recent contacts in Brussels where he
had the chance to meet with representatives of the EU Commission and discuss
the issue, Nami said that he stressed
during his contacts the need for the establishment of an exclusive control
mechanism in the “north” which will work together with the EU Commission.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Haberal Kibrisli
(17.03.15) reports that the chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce
(KTSO) Fikri Toros, in an exclusive
interview to the paper, referred, inter alia, to the issue of halloumi/hellim
and said that by no manner of means, the control organ to be established for
halloumi, should come under the Republic of Cyprus.
Toros referred also to the recent contacts they
carried out together with the “Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry” in Brussels
regarding the issue of hellim and added that they will continue their lobby
activities towards this issue.
(AK)
3.Olgun expressed hopes for
the resumption of the talks after April
Under the title: “We
can continue from the point we were left”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (17.03.15) reports that the Turkish
Cypriot negotiator Ergun Olgun, in statements to the paper yesterday after his
meeting with the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide, said
that during the meeting with Eide, they exchanged views on the issue of the
resumption of the Cyprus negotiation talks.
Olgun stated
that the Turkish Cypriot side has drawn a positive perspective towards the
issue of the resumption of the talks and added that in case the Greek Cypriot
side acts in the same way, then it is possible for the process to restart and
to create an infrastructure in order to have progress and reach to a positive
result.
Olgun
expressed hopes for the resumption of the negotiation talks from the point they
were left, after the “presidential elections” in April.
Referring to the Greek Cypriot Negotiator Andreas
Mavroyiannis’ recent statement who has said that an opportunity may arise in
April for the resumption of the talks, Olgun pointed out to the importance of
the solution of the Cyprus problem for the stability in the region and the
international community.
Regarding
the issue of hydrocarbons, Olgun said that they are seeking for a ground that
the two sides will have a joint action on this issue and added that Eide’s
contacts in the Greek Cypriot side will be decisive as regards the issue of the
resumption of the talks.
(AK)
4. Sibel
said that she will bring forward new ideas on confident building measures for
Varosha on the table
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (17.03.15)
reports that Sibel Siber, the candidate
of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) for the forthcoming “presidential
elections” stated that Navtex ends in April 6 and the Cyprus negotiations could continue after this
period. She also said that with the re-launching of negotiations reaching a
solution will be possible.
She
also stated that in case she is elected, she will support the confident
building measures for Varosha and added that she will bring forward new ideas
on the table.
(CS)
5.“Draft change bill on citizenship”
has been approved by the so-called assembly
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (17.03.15)
reports that the so-called assembly
approved yesterday unanimously the “Draft (change) bill on citizenship” which
envisages that the “people” whose “TRNC citizenship” has been revoked, will
also lose any immovable property they have in the occupied area of Cyprus.
According to the paper, in case the “draft bill” is
approved by the “president”, then all the property of those persons will be
sold out in a period of six months.
The “law”
also foresees that a person who has lost its “citizenship” will be unable to
protect the property of his wife and children.
(AK)
6. New
survey on the “presidential elections” shows Eroglu to receive 42%
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi newspaper
917.03.15) reports that the “Karina Research Institute”
(GAE) announced the results of a survey they carried out on the “presidential
elections” to be held on April 19.
According to the results, Dervis Eroglu is ahead with 42% of the votes, CTP candidate Siber has
29%, Mustafa Akinci has 20%, Kudret Ozersay 7%, Mustafa Onurer 1% and Arif
Salih Kirdag 1%
The full results (which include the indecisive and not
voting responses) are:
Dervis Eroglu: 32.9%
Sibel Siber: 22.9%
Mustafa Akinci: 15.8%
Kudret Ozersay: 5.1%
Mustafa Onurer: 0.8%
Arif Salih Kirdag: 0.4%
Indecisive: 12.8%
Not voting: 9.3%
GAE institute chairman Asim Vehbi stated that the poll was carried out over 1,500 people.
Vehbi said they also asked the question: if an election was held today, which
party would you vote for? The survey
results showed that 36.5% responded UBP, 26.5% CTP, 5.3% DP-UG and 7.5% TDP.
7.The occupation regime to
attend the CeBit International Technology Fair in Germany
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (17.03.15)
under the title: “The TRNC to be
promoted in Germany”, reports that the occupation regime will attend the 2015 “CeBit
International Technology Fair”, which will take place in Hannover, Germany.
According to the paper, the occupation regime will
attend the fair with its own stand, where Turkish Cypriot firms will promote
local products.
The fair will open today with the participation of
3,400 companies from 70 different countries. Also, around 250 thousand people
from 100 countries are expected to visit it.
The fair is co-organized by Germany and China.
(AK)
8. Erdogan’s claims:
Events in Syria are part of attempts to destroy Turkey’s power
Turkish
Hurriyet Daily News (17.03.15) reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
claimed that the on-going tragedy in Syria is part of global attempts “to
weaken Turkey’s power and damage Turkey’s position”.
“This
is the reason for support given to [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] and also
to Daesh [the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, ISIL],” Erdogan claimed,
speaking at the opening ceremony of a new facility of Turkish defence company
Aselsan. Without going into details, he
pointed to “some circles that do not want Turkey’s development.”
In
addition, Erdogan vowed to continue to
support the development of the domestic defence industry, saying that Turkey is
constantly strengthening its political power with economic power. He also pledged to diminish the Turkish
defence industry’s foreign dependency, which he described as “a mistake made
from the 1930s until 2000.”
Moreover,
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reacted against recent remarks by
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry regarding possible negotiations with Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad have prompted strong reactions from Ankara. “What is
there to negotiate [with al-Assad]?” told reporters in Phnom Penh on March 16
during a visit to Cambodia. The Turkish Foreign Minister said that international
efforts must focus on two major issues in Syria: Destroying terrorist groups
including ISIL, and toppling the al-Assad regime to lead to a political
transition. Cavusoglu also reiterated his call on European countries to tighten
their border controls to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Syria.
9. Demirtas: Why is there
a peace process if there is no Kurdish question?
Turkish
Hurriyet Daily News (17.03.15) reports that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas has
criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his recent statement denying the
existence of a Kurdish problem in Turkey, describing such moves as a “political
manoeuvre” for the upcoming general election.
“If
there is no Kurdish question, why is the peace process still continuing?” asked
Demirtas, speaking to reporters on March 16.
Demirtasfurther
remarked on the contradiction between Erdogan’s denial of the Kurdish problem
and the words of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other government officials
about forthcoming steps to be taken in the Kurdish peace process.
“There
is a kind of division of labour. One of them rules out the existence of the
problem, the other is talking about steps to be taken. These are all
pre-election manoeuvres,” he said.
Demirtas added that he was
concerned that Erdogan and the government will adopt a more nationalistic
language in order to attract more votes for the parliamentary elections
scheduled for June 7. “We as the HDP have always said we do not trust the
Justice and Development Party’s [AKP] policies. We have no belief that it will
take steps [as part of the peace process],” he said.
10. Opinion poll suggests
that AKP may not be able to apply a Presidential system in Turkey
Turkish
daily Taraf (13.03.15) reported that according
to an opinion poll conducted by SONAR research firm, AKP [Justice and
Development Party] will get 40% of the vote which means it will have 243 Deputies,
and the HDP [People's Democratic Party] will pass the threshold.
The
paper notes that SONAR had made the most correct estimates in the 2011
elections and in last year's presidential vote.
According
to the "March 2015 -- Poll on Political Tendencies and Agenda"
conducted by Hakan Bayrakci, owner of SONAR Survey Company, AKP gets 40 % of
the vote, the CHP [Republican People's Party] 27.1 %, the MHP [Nationalist
Action Party] 18 %, the HDP 10.1 %, (Dogu Perincek's) Homeland Party 3 %, and
the others 1.8 %.
Accordingly, the AKP will
have 243 seats, the CHP 133, the MHP 116, and the HDP 58 seats. The call President Erdogan has been making in
his latest rallies, namely the call, "get me 400 seats and we will bring
the presidential system," will not become a reality according to this
poll. In other words, the AKP will not
get 276 seats, the number necessary to come to power on its own, something it
has been dreaming of.
SONAR
gets these results by means of a "face-to-face interview system"
which it uses every four months. Some
3,000 persons were randomly selected from different economic and demographic
groups and in line with age, gender, district/sub-district/town quotas.
Another
striking result in the SONAR poll is the section under "If the HDP Remains
Under the Threshold." Calculating an error margin of plus-minus 1.7 %,
here are the results: The AKP 41.7 %,
the CHP 26.6 %, the MHP 18 %, the HDP 9.1 %, the Homeland Party 3.2 %, and the
others 1.4 %. According to the simulated results based on these percentages,
the party seats would be distributed as follows: The AKP 274, the CHP 148, the MHP 128, and
the HDP 0. If the HDP fails to pass the threshold, the AKP may, with a very
small margin, get more than 276 seats.
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TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
(CS/ AM)
